Reading workshop and vocabulary knowledge : allies in comprehension

The Reading Workshop develops a purpose for reading, gives students a greater sense of their own efficacy, broadens understanding of reading strategies, provides a context that supports the student choice of what is read, and allows integration of prior knowledge in what is read (Kletzien \u26 Hushion, 1992). Students are able to construct and direct their own learning in the Reading Workshop by reading books of their independent choice, respond to what is read, and receive mini-skill instruction on reading strategies. Students are invited to be actively involved in a process that is consistent with whole language philosophy (Atwell, 1987). They are motivated to practice reading which often solves many reading problems that children experience (Swift). Workshop classrooms are not a time of chaos, but a time of active literacy (McAndrew, 1993)